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Council tweaks travel policy and housekeeping items to ease burdens on board members
Summary
BHEC updated its travel policy to allow waivers for personal vehicle mileage reimbursement when commercial rental car access is impractical; staff also warned about guideline proliferation and discussed other administrative housekeeping.
Council members approved a revised travel policy intended to reduce the time burden on board and council members who travel to meetings and to account for limited rental-car availability under the state contract.
Staff told the council that Enterprise did not renew the state rental-car contract and Hertz is the new vendor; Hertz has fewer pickup locations in some parts of Texas, which can force lengthy detours for board members. The revised policy allows a waiver to be granted and permits mileage reimbursement for use of a personal vehicle where the rental-car option is impractical, rather than forcing members to spend additional unpaid hours retrieving a rental vehicle.
The council said the new policy recognizes the unquantified costs of board service and aims to reduce barriers to participation. Staff acknowledged the State Auditor's Office may review the policy on audit but said the policy seeks to balance cost savings with respect for members' time.
Other housekeeping: Staff warned the council about proliferation of public guidelines and urged caution; the council agreed to favor formal rulemaking when a guideline would effectively alter enforcement or licenseholder obligations. The council adopted a public guideline on new/emerging technologies and kept the practice-monitor guidance as an internal staff document to avoid deterring potential practice monitors.
